Reserve your seats now for the next wine dinner hosted by the Santa Cruz Mountain Wineries Association at the most spectacular winery on the peninsula. “Into the Fog,” taking place on September 13 at Thomas Fogarty Winery in Woodside, also features wines from David Bruce Winery, Kings Mountain Vineyard, Maison Areion, Madson Wines, Sandar & Hem Wines and Vidovich Vineyards, accompanied by incredible cuisine from Scott Cooper of Le Papillon. Tickets are $185 at https://winesofthesantacruzmountains.com/events/sept13totfogarty
Taste of Los Gatos, billed as an end-of-summer food street festival, will take place Sept. 14 from 1 to 5 p.m. Randi Chen of the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce says organizers expect at least 1,000 attendees to sample wine and food while enjoying live music, shopping and entertainment for the whole family, as well as activities for kids. Grab a wristband for $45 and enjoy samples from over a dozen restaurants. Wine and beer can be purchased at booths along North Santa Cruz Avenue, which will be closed to car traffic that day. Tickets are $48.47 at Eventbrite.com.
Ethan Carreon, the talented young chef at Lexington House in downtown Los Gatos, currently has some summery dishes on the menu, including assorted summer beans with chili chips in olive oil, garnished with puffed seeds and nuts; local yellowfin tuna ceviche on blue corn tostada with Thai chili mayonnaise; and Fogline Farm chicken with romesco, green lentils, mustard leaves and sofrito.
Gardenia Los Gatos is off to a great start and it’s no wonder, as the French-Asian fusion cuisine of Chef David Intonato, who came from Pine Creek Cookhouse in Aspen, is already setting new standards for Los Gatos. Be warned: You’ll need reservations for brunch and happy hour at https://gardenialosgatos.com/reservations.
For brunch, there are some variations on classics such as a summer omelette with asparagus, mushrooms and Boursin, as well as almond pancakes with lemon ricotta, organic maple syrup from Vermont, berries and fine butter.
Most dishes are made from familiar ingredients and are combined in dishes like Kalua Pork Hash Browns, where potato pancakes and pork are spiced up with spicy Chinese cabbage kimchi, or Pan Bagnat, a baguette with fried ahi, anchovies, capers and fresh tomatoes, or French Dip made from smoked Wagyu beef brisket with local honey butter and Emmental cheese. Vegans can look forward to avocado toast with cashew cream and miso tapenade with truffle honey, as well as vegan mung bean eggs for egg dishes.
Crêpe lovers will appreciate Intonato’s approach, which fills them with fluffy Glaum scrambled eggs, large cubes of hearty Niman ham, roasted peppers and caramelized onions. The Gruyère soubise served on the side adds a whole new level of deliciousness to the already rich dish.
We also tried the garden salad with champagne mustard vinaigrette and grilled Mexican wild shrimp. The stuffed lobster eggs are a big favorite, as is the ahi tuna tartare with grapefruit vinaigrette and bonrai yuzu salt. Loco moco and hickory-smoked trout congee add even more island flavor to the dish.
Ritual At Manresa is taking reservations for September, when Lasarte, the three-Michelin-starred restaurant from Barcelona, will be in house. For reservations and membership information, visit https://www.ritualatmanresa.com.
Further north, chef and co-owner David Nayfeld has invited some of the world’s most celebrated chefs into the kitchen of Che Fico to dine at “Che Fico & Friends” at Che Fico Parco Menlo. Next up on Thursday, September 12 is Chef Hillary Sterling of Ci Siamo in New York City. Known for her modern take on Italian cuisine with an emphasis on market-driven ingredients, Sterling made her name as executive chef at A Voce under award-winning chef Missy Robbins. Reservations are available at https://www.cheficoparcomenlo.com/che-fico-friends.
You really want to enjoy brunch every weekend day at Osteria at Domenico Winery in San Carlos. Really excellent food including crab cakes Benedict with brown butter hollandaise, Wagyu brunch burger with fried egg and provolone, fried chicken on herb macaroni and cheese waffle with orange maple syrup, brioche French toast with poppy seed ricotta, and Dom’s Scramble with fennel sausage and peppers and crispy fingerlings. It’s as good as it sounds. And there’s wine. https://osteria.domenicowinery.com
